As their fellow students walk out of the Transfiguration classroom, Aster groaned softly, pushing themselves up from their desk.
The next class was Defense Againts the Dark Arts and it's on the first floor.
Aster is currently on the fifth floor.
With a resigned sigh, they slung their bag over their shoulder and stepped into the corridor.
“Fifth floor to first floor…” they muttered under their breath. “Easy. Just a casual descent into the depths of exhaustion.”
Aster reached the nearest stairwell.
One floor down.
Then another.
By the time they hit the third floor down, Aster’s expression had gone completely flat.
“If I fall down these stairs,” they muttered, “would it make me go faster?”
Aster glanced down the endless spiral beneath them. For a moment, they actually considered it.
A student behind them coughed. “Please don’t test that theory.”
Aster sighed, already defeated. “Fine. I’ll suffer the normal way.”
Another floor.
Then another.
Each landing blurred into the next.
Finally they reached the first floor and with a bit of a walk, Aster arrived at the Defense Againts the Dark Arts classroom.
The magic on the room felt aware. It sat at the edge of tension, like it was always waiting for something to go wrong just so it could prove it was ready for it.
Aster exhaled and stepped inside anyway.
